ON STAGE THEATER & MUSIC. OPENING NIGHTS.

Factory's `Eagle' lands at Stage Left

July 12, 2002|By Lawrence Bommer. Special to the Tribune.

Three men chow down pretzels, drink beer and discuss parasailing, microwave fires and the sameness of their lives. When, four weeks later, they return to the same bar, they discover how a change in one life alters everyone and everything. Opening Friday in a local premiere by the Factory Theater Company, Chicago playwright Brett Neveu's comedy "Eagle Hills, Eagle Ridge, Eagle Landing" is staged by Steve Walker. On weekends it's followed by the improv entertainment "Lab Rats."

"MY SISTER IN THIS HOUSE," TinFish Theatre, 4247 N. Lincoln Ave.; closes Aug. 31; $12-$15; 773-549-1888: France's "crime of the century" happened in 1933 when two sisters brutally murdered the women they worked for. Jean Genet treated the tragedy in "The Maids." So did Wendy Kesselman. Opening Friday, her version depicts four women who feel trapped, angry, afraid and, inevitably, violent.

"PURPLE HEART," Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St.; closes Aug. 25; $35-$50; 312-335-1650: Opening Sunday, Chicago theater artist Bruce Norris' drama depicts a Vietnam War widow trying to rebuild her life and raise her young son under the watchful eye of her mother-in-law. Everything changes with the arrival of a mysterious stranger.

Anna Shapiro directs a world premiere staging that features ensemble member Laurie Metcalf. Also at Steppenwolf on Monday night only as the July offering in the theater's "Traffic" series, "Petty Delusions and Grand Obsessions." The show features jazz artist Kurt Elling and ensemble member Terry Kinney in an evening of drama and music about obsessive love, drinking, family, TV and politics.

"TETHERBALL: A SONG IN THREE ACTS," Infamous Commonwealth Theatre Company at Viaduct Theatre, 3111 N. Western Ave.; closes Aug. 4; $10; 773-248-7427, ext. 3: Opening Saturday, this is the latest offering from a theater that "depicts one topic per year using contrasting theatrical voices."

"HOT L BALTIMORE," Mary-Arrchie Theatre Co. at Angel Island, 731 W. Sheridan Rd.; Thursday-Sept. 1; $10-$15; 773-871-0442: In a staging by David Cromer, Lanford Wilson's communal drama depicts the memorable inhabitants of a glamorous hotel that's been reduced to a flophouse and is now threatened with demolition.

"SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD," White Horse Theatre Company at Wing & Groove Theatre, 1935 1/2 W. North Ave.; Friday- July 21; $13, $15; 773-477-9260: A new company opens its acts Friday with Jason Robert Brown's song cycle about characters in crisis. Jeremy Morton directs a cast of six.

"FREEDOMLAND," TriArts, Inc. at Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport Ave.; Thursday-Aug. 25; $15; 312-902-1500: Opening Thursday, Amy Freed's Pulitzer-nominated drama delivers a dark look at a modern dysfunctional family who are thrust into an unexpected reunion at their historical New England home.

"GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS," Inequity Theatrical Collaboration at The Cornservatory, 4210 N. Lincoln Ave.; Friday-Aug. 10; $5; 773-289-3792: This late-night and non-family show depicts the title character and her mother, Sadie Spangle, who are bankrupt and about to lose their circus.

They acquire a spectacular act of dancing bears who become the target of Pedro Twoface, a felonious gypsy.

"HAIR," Stage Two Theatre Company at Estonian House, Estonian Lane, 1/4 mile north of Deerfield Rd.; Lincolnshire; Thursday-Aug. 10; $12, $16; 847-432-7469: The American "tribal love-rock" musical returns to the stage on Thursday, featuring newly written and revised material supplied by author James Rado.

"WINESBURG, OHIO," Steppenwolf Theatre Company at Theatre on the Lake, Fullerton Ave. and Lake Shore Drive; Wednesday-July 21; $12; 312-742-7994: This revival of Eric Rosen's dramatization of Sherwood Anderson's Midwestern masterpiece depicts a fictional town where we all grew up.

"A JEWISH CHRISTMAS," Chicago Dramatists, 1105 W. Chicago Ave.; $3; 312-633-0630: Continuing the theater's series of Saturday showcases of staged readings of new scripts by local writers, this new work by Josh Levine depicts a Jewish family sent into turmoil when the son introduces his gay and gentile lover.